LIFE AFTER JOHN L.SULLIVAN
When the " Boston Strongboy " beat Jake Kilrain on the 8th of July 1889 he stated that he would never fight again without Gloves. In his preperation to the Kilrain fight he suffered a strict and thorough training regim and needing to loose over 40lbs in weight at the hands of William Muldoon. Due to his lack of fitness after living a life of hard drink, and rich living he believed that the future of Bareknuckle Boxing was doomed and the way forward was with Gloves in regulated 3 minutes rounds. He obviously considered it to be an easier choice but when he fought the much younger and fitter James J Corbett under the Queensbury rules he was defeated in 21 rounds and a new chapter in Boxing had begun. The new champion was to take Gloved Boxing to what it is today however Bareknuckle Boxing suffered as a result and from that date to the present day its survived underground but was it it wasn't for the Travelling community it may have never returned .
Sullivans image of being one of the greatest Bareknuckle Boxers has survived to this day and he is without doubt the biggest icon of the sport even though he never had that many official Bareknucklee fights in his career.He fought many more fights and exhibitions with gloves yet he was also the first sportman to earn over $1,000,000 in his lifetime, although much of this money he earned was off stage work but this was only because of his fame and reputation as a fighter.....
When Gloved Boxing took a foothold it led to the fighters who wanted to compete in Bareknuckle to remain anonymous and it moved underground and in doing so very few official records exist but bouts did take place and its important for the future that at least some recognition is given to these brave men taking part in the hardest sport of all.
If anyone has any info on any fighters or fights that have taken place from 1900 to today please contact me on here and
the info can be added to build up a timeline as accurately as possible. Get in touch using the contact page on this site.
Sullivans image of being one of the greatest Bareknuckle Boxers has survived to this day and he is without doubt the biggest icon of the sport even though he never had that many official Bareknucklee fights in his career.He fought many more fights and exhibitions with gloves yet he was also the first sportman to earn over $1,000,000 in his lifetime, although much of this money he earned was off stage work but this was only because of his fame and reputation as a fighter.....
When Gloved Boxing took a foothold it led to the fighters who wanted to compete in Bareknuckle to remain anonymous and it moved underground and in doing so very few official records exist but bouts did take place and its important for the future that at least some recognition is given to these brave men taking part in the hardest sport of all.
If anyone has any info on any fighters or fights that have taken place from 1900 to today please contact me on here and
the info can be added to build up a timeline as accurately as possible. Get in touch using the contact page on this site.
